ELMONT, N.Y. – American Pharoah, the Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner, on Wednesday morning had his first tour of the Belmont Park track over which he will try to win the Belmont Stakes on Saturday and seemed to take in his surroundings with the same aplomb with which he's handled just about everything else during his bid to become the 12th Triple Crown winner.

Trainer Bob Baffert was amused by the way American Pharoah first came onto the Belmont track, showing his usual command of the situation even though it was his first time on the track.

Two big days of racing at Belmont offer large fields and quality horses. First, let’s look at Friday’s card, where there are a lot of betting opportunities, and we’ll use DRF Formulator to find a couple to play as well as a couple to avoid.

Race 4 – stakes, 5 1/2 furlongs on dirt

ELMONT, N.Y. – American Pharoah, who on Saturday will attempt to become the sport's 12th Triple Crown winner when he competes in the Belmont Stakes, arrived at Belmont Park on Tuesday following a flight from Kentucky and then a van ride from the local airport, a trip that took almost five hours from door to door.

Much like the Kentucky Derby, the Belmont Stakes puts its competitors on a level playing field in that none of the horses have started at the race’s 1 1/2-mile distance.

The distance of the Belmont Stakes is unique for 3-year-olds in this part of the racing calendar, and it’s likely that most of the horses who run Saturday will never cover that much ground in competition again.

Despite steadily increasing crowds at racing’s Triple Crown events and the very real chance that American Pharoah on Saturday will become the sport’s first Triple Crown winner in 37 years, an attendance record will not be set at Belmont Park this weekend. That is guaranteed.

And that is by design.

Victor Espinoza, the man who rides American Pharoah in the Belmont Stakes on Saturday, is already on a list that includes Bill Hartack, Milo Valenzuela, and Kent Desormeaux, all of them in the Hall of Fame.

That’s pretty good company, but all the same, Espinoza would like to jump ship and join the club made up of Johnny Loftus, Earl Sande, Willie Saunders, Charlie Kurtsinger, Eddie Arcaro, John Longden, Warren Mehrtens, Ron Turcotte, Jean Cruguet, and Steve Cauthen.

ELMONT, N.Y. – Bob Baffert knows how to train a Triple Crown winner.

He hasn’t done it yet, but Silver Charm in 1997 ran a winning race in the Belmont, and so did Real Quiet the next year. War Emblem, Baffert’s third would-be Triple Crown winner, lost the Belmont when he stumbled at the start.

ELMONT, N.Y. – Trainer Michael de Kock has competed in and won major races all over the world, but not until last month had he ever run a horse in the Kentucky Derby, where Mubtaahij finished eighth in the field of 18. His participation in American classics will double on Saturday, when Mubtaahij competes in the Belmont Stakes.

When American Pharoah seeks to complete a sweep of the Triple Crown at Belmont Park Saturday, racing fans will hope to see a great race and perhaps a definitive confirmation that the winner has earned a lofty place in the sport’s history.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Kentucky Derby and Preakness winner American Pharoah turned a dreary morning into a pretty special one Monday at Churchill Downs with an eye-catching final work for Saturday’s Belmont Stakes.